Honest level of risk with skydiving?

[Philly215 0]

I hear different things and read different stats. Some people from the local dz say the odds of being killed or injured along the lines of being paralyzed are virtually tiny for the amount of jumps that occur.

is this true? I read that theres a tiny amount of deaths per year and like 97% are mistakes and bad decisions, not gear failure. But then i seen another forum dedicated to in memory of's and there were like 400 threads in the passed 6 months.

[Remster 30]

First:

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But then i seen another forum dedicated to in memory of's and there were like 400 threads in the passed 6 months.

Thats a new forum, so the threads are often about someone we lost for a year or two agao. And sometimes its not skydiving related. Keep that in mind.

This being said, it is a sport that kills. If you stick around long enough (a couple of years is all you need unfortunatly), you will know someone you call a friend who dies jumping. That a combination of accident being not as rare as sopme people like to think (tho they are not commun) and the sport being a fairly small, close knit community.

You are right, most of the fatalities are not due to gear. Today's equipment is very reliable. Most often, its an error that will kill.

If that doesnt sit well with you, maybe its not a sport for you.

Remster

[billvon 2,991]

>Some people from the local dz say the odds of being killed or injured
>along the lines of being paralyzed are virtually tiny for the amount of
>jumps that occur.

That's true. It's not safe, but it is _relatively_ safe. For example -

It's not safer than driving, but it is safer than having a few beers and driving.

It's about as safe as general aviation. (not commercial aviation, general aviation.)

If you start skydiving, and really get into it, the number of people you know who died skydiving will probably outnumber the people you know who died of any other accidental cause.

>is this true? I read that theres a tiny amount of deaths per year and
>like 97% are mistakes and bad decisions, not gear failure.

More like 99%

>But then i seen another forum dedicated to in memory of's and there were
>like 400 threads in the passed 6 months.

30-40 people die a year in the US, mostly from the above-mentioned mistakes. Rarely their gear fails, and rarely someone else kills them.

[DSE 5]

Skydiving is a high risk sport. Period. People get hurt every month, somewhere in the world. Fatalities are a part of the sport, just as are broken ankles, wrist, femurs, tibs, necks, backs, pelvi, fingers, and other various and sundry parts of your body.
Broken bones are not required, however.

The sport is as safe as *you* can make it. I doubt there is a skydiver with more than 100 jumps that hasn't had an "oh shit" moment. Most of em' self-induced.
Reading fatalities and injury reports should serve to teach, not scare.

[Philly215 0]

Sits fine with me. Sounds a whole lot safer then driving. So basically the fatalities in skydiving are on your decisions, unlike I guess say...driving where you can be 100% defensive and still get hurt from someone else?

So it's probably the most popular phrase ever, but for the amount of people doing both, the "safer then driving a car" saying is actually true than?

[billvon 2,991]

>the "safer then driving a car" saying is actually true than?

No. If you start skydiving a lot, you will know WAY more people who died skydiving than died driving.

[Philly215 0]

Ah starting to seem more scary as it's gettin closer haha. I'm still gonna do it anyway. My luck, I'd avoid skydiving to avoid the injuries and danger and then get it from some freak accident in everyday life.

Haha I waited 14 years and there's no way im gonna change my mind.

[Remster 30]

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So basically the fatalities in skydiving are on your decisions

No. We said errors and mistakes, not necesserally yours.

You can do everything right and still die.

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the "safer then driving a car" saying is actually true than?

Not at all. As Bill said, most of us have many more friends who died skydiving then driving, while not all our friends skydive.

Remster

[Myrka 0]

I thought it was pretty dangerous, then i saw a BASE jumper pack his rig

[mdetrano 0]

This "safer than driving a car" statement should probably just be thrown out entirely.

Driving a car and skydiving are different things, so why compare them? Many people use a motor vehicle to get to their jobs and feed their families, so NOT driving would expose them to the hazards of poverty.

Skydiving is more likely to KEEP you in poverty.

The stats. on that are always suspect anyway... they should be calculated per unit of time spent doing the activity, in which case I highly suspect (I am no expert!), that skydiving comes out much worse than driving.

Yet, we got people in the sport with 10K+ jumps, decades of experience, days or weeks of accumulated freefall time...which I think says a lot for your ability to make the sport "safer", by acting responsibly.

You must be as defensive skydiving as driving, if not more so. That not only means watching out for others in the air with you, but not flying with pilots who can't (learned that one the hard way), staying on the ground or in the plane when things look wrong, etc.

As for the risk to reward ratio...for most this is entertainment, so its personal. To me its worth every ounce of risk and every penny, because I take away something that I know makes me a better person. But that's subjective, I just hope everyone can have a similar experience.

[kallend 2,027]

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Sits fine with me. Sounds a whole lot safer then driving. So basically the fatalities in skydiving are on your decisions, unlike I guess say...driving where you can be 100% defensive and still get hurt from someone else?

So it's probably the most popular phrase ever, but for the amount of people doing both, the "safer then driving a car" saying is actually true than?

Your risk of death during a 5 minute skydive (freefall + canopy ride) is about the same as your risk of death in 10 hours of driving (sober). I'd hardly say they are even in the same league, let alone similar.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[skybytch 273]

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Yet, we got people in the sport with 10K+ jumps, decades of experience, days or weeks of accumulated freefall time...which I think says a lot for your ability to make the sport "safer", by acting responsibly.

I agree. I see skydiving as a risk management activity. First accept the fact that you could do everything right and still get injured or die. Determine which of the remaining risks you feel are worth taking (an example would be learning to swoop - some feel the risks are worth the rewards, others feel that swooping adds more risk than they are willing to take). Then do everything you can to reduce the risks that you don't want to take but do have control over.

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You must be as defensive skydiving as driving, if not more so. That not only means watching out for others in the air with you, but not flying with pilots who can't (learned that one the hard way), staying on the ground or in the plane when things look wrong, etc.

I would add conservative gear selection (especially as a novice), refusing to be on the same load with people who are scary (ie the guy on a canopy that's way too fast for his ability - even if he can land it just fine, he many not be able to fly it safely in traffic, anybody who can't/won't fly a predictable landing pattern, etc) and refusing to stop learning to that list.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I read that theres a tiny amount of deaths per year and like 97% are mistakes and bad decisions, not gear failure. But then i seen another forum dedicated to in memory of's and there were like 400 threads in the passed 6 months.

Yes but it's more complicated than that.

I've known skydivers and pilots who were going to die due to their bad judgement, and just hoped they didn't take anyone else with them. I've known skydivers who may have survived if they were taught judgement in the titanium club before then, and hoped they'd hurt themselves just enough to wise up before they bounced.

Avoiding those sorts of mistakes is an easy choice for most people.

Other situations are more complicated. For example, eventually you'll exit the aircraft too far from the drop zone to make it back (perhaps the winds will pick up in the wrong direction after you exit) to land in the main landing area with a normal pattern. Training will make a safe off-field landing more likely, perhaps with a low turn to avoid obstacles you didn't see from pattern altitudes.

The incident reports are filled with reports about "conservative" skydivers who were "not hook turn type people" with hundreds or thousands of jumps that died in such situations.

While your instructors know more than you do they don't know everything. Lots of them tell people its OK to exceed Brian Germain's Wingloading Never Exceed formula. Annecdotally most of the people I know who made their first 1000 jumps major-injury went through canopy progressions that didn't break that. Everyone I can think of who got metal was jumping smaller canopies.

[airtwardo 7]

If ya keep your ears & eyes open...take your time...watch, listen, ask & learn~
And never be afraid to say NO...not today, not this jump...you'll be fine.


Then again, Murphy Lurks...and if the good Lord should ever wanna fuck with you...a skydive IS a pretty good place to do it!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[jtval 0]

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>the "safer then driving a car" saying is actually true than?

No. If you start skydiving a lot, you will know WAY more people who died skydiving than died driving.

That may be true but most people feel they know a skydiver becasue the talk on an online forum. How many people are on the news everyday for a car crash?

I am not saying that driving is more or less safe than jumping. In las vegas I see car wrecks EVEYRDAY. It's fucking ridiculous. Yes I know a few people who have died in skydiving and I would NEVER think about saying that it is a safe sport.

I just think people compare apples to oranges too much.

SKYDIVING can kill, even if YOU do everything correctly.. That is what I will say to the OP.

Just be aware that skydiving is not just a sport, it's a way of life...or death.

(BTW- I know way more people who died in car wrecks.)

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[Kiki32 1]

I had my first "oh shit" moment at jump 14 when I broke my hand on the flagpole in mid flare. 5 days later I got rear ended by a semi truck and my car was totalled. So as a result of this I came to the conclusion that driving is more dangerous than skydiving. At least with jumping, I know that if I die theres a high chance it will be from my own faults rather than someone elses.

Poetry don't work on whores.

[billvon 2,991]

>That may be true but most people feel they know a skydiver becasue the talk on an online forum.

I am going off my experience with people I knew personally, some of whom were very good friends of mine. The score now stands at 14 dead skydiving, 3 dead driving.

[Zipp0 1]

All of the talk of safety stats relative to other activities goes right out the door with you on that first jump. It is very serious business, but it is a rush (at least for a while, I understand).

Is it worth it? You need to jump and decide for yourself.

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[DeepThought 0]

I have to say that comparing Skydiving to driving is prety pointles.

I think some very rough stats are 1 in 120,000 jumps ends in a fatality. Most of which are under a perfectly functioning canopy.

If you are also looking at the dangers of Skydiving you need to look at more than just fatalites.
You also need to take account broken bones etc.

Yes Skydiving is dangerous....
But it is probably not as dangerous as Joe Public think it is.

If you do not understand the dangers involved, perhaps you shouldnt be jumping.

Accept the risk and you will find the rewards out wheigh them by miles.

For me, it is the best sport in the world.....

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You only have one life, make the most of it.

[billvon 2,991]

>Yes Skydiving is dangerous....
>But it is probably not as dangerous as Joe Public think it is.

Very true. It is less dangerous than most whuffos think it is; it is more dangerous than tandem factories make it out to be.

[ebeziere 0]

Hey philly !

There s one thing in your posts that surprises me. You never seem to doubt the fact that you'll love it !
I'm not experienced but yet, I can tell you that sure, what you see in the videos is super cool and OMG i so want to do that ;-) But the real thing is a whole other deal.
It's like nothing you've ever experienced before so you can't know if you'll like it or not.
I'm saying that because a friend of mine thought he wanted to skydive and he was going to love it and we saw him FAINT during his first jump. It was a static line, he jumped out, parachute opens, he s already asleep. He woke up a few times and fainted back during the flight. He landed in a forest. He was lucky though, if he had a mal he would have been in huge trouble, perhaps dead.
He never jumped again, and told me that it s weird how you can be so into things like this before even doing it and then find out that the real shit is brutal lol.
I m not saying you ll faint or whatever. I m sure you ll do good. But my advice would be : take it easy and try to see if you really like it first :-)

Have fun!

Ed

[Philly215 0]

lol your 100% right. So far everything I could've done I wanted more of or better. Started as a kid with the tiny free-falls, to the bigger theme park freefalls, to the 'bunge jump' swings on the boardwalks-then actual bunge jumping from a bridge *dad didn't know about that til after*. Nothings turned me away, but none of that compares to skydiving im guessing, just assumed I'd like it haha. We'll see i guess

[jtval 0]

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>That may be true but most people feel they know a skydiver becasue the talk on an online forum.

I am going off my experience with people I knew personally, some of whom were very good friends of mine. The score now stands at 14 dead skydiving, 3 dead driving.

You happen to have Perris as a home and get to do some amazing things with big ways. As a constant you have more contact with the skydiving world and skydivers than I do.
I don't envy you for having lost so many friends but I fully believe that it is because I have been tucked away in NV for so long that I didn't meet more people.

I am moving to Colorado springs in 6 months and I hope that my numbers don't rise.



I also agree with the comment made about the sport not being as dangerous as the general public thinks. even though it is a dangerous sport we are not all guaranteed to die from jumping.

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[kelpdiver 2]

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That may be true but most people feel they know a skydiver becasue the talk on an online forum. How many people are on the news everyday for a car crash?

I am not saying that driving is more or less safe than jumping. In las vegas I see car wrecks EVEYRDAY. It's fucking ridiculous.

Vegas is a worst case scenario on the driving front - grossly inflated number of tourist and drunk drivers. And when you drive on a stretch of freeway, you will see what happens to tens of thousands of drivers that day.

[jtval 0]

I fully agree with you.

I always say everyone "is a drunken tourist, if they arent drunk their too distracted by the sites."

and the road system "was designed by giving a monkey a pencil and paving what he drew."

I like Vegas alot but "what happens in vegas stays in vegas shouldn't apply to looking for better ideas.

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